Hair Stylist Resume Example

Finding a position at the right spa or salon is key to getting your career started off on the right track. To get the interest of the hottest salons in your area, you’ll need a hair stylist resume that is properly shampooed and blow-dried.

The most lucrative hair stylist opportunities are given to those with a vast knowledge of hair care services, which is why it’s important to make sure your hair stylist resume effectively showcases your qualifications.

Use our tips below to write a glossy hair stylist resume:

1. Prominently display your hair stylist license

The most important piece of information that hiring managers want to know is whether or not you have a license to practice cosmetology in your state.

You can list your license in your skills section, but if you have any additional certifications or associations to include, list them in a dedicated section instead.

Make sure to include the name of the license or certification as well as where you received it. Since cosmetology licenses need to be renewed regularly, it’s okay to leave out the date you got your license.

Here’s an example of how to list a cosmetology license on your resume:

Cosmetology License
Massachusetts Board of Registration of Cosmetology and Barbering

2. Show off your hair stylist resume skills

The skills section of your resume can determine whether or not you get called in for an interview. Make sure your resume properly advertises your skills by including any specialized hair care techniques that you excel at.

Some commonly sought-after hard skills for a hair stylist to list on your resume include:

• Balayage
• Hair coloring
• Applying hair extensions
• Brazilian blowouts
• Cutting & styling
• Thermal styling
• Face waxing
• Conditioning
• Head massage
• Customer service skills
• Upselling
• Marketing
• Product knowledge
• Language skills
• Knowledge of current trends and styles
• Physical endurance

Additionally, soft skills are a necessity in the field of cosmetology. The best hair stylists are able to use their people skills and customer service abilities to build up a loyal customer base. Having a loyal clientele is every stylist’s dream because it means having a consistent flow of business.

Some soft skills to include in your hair stylist resume include:

• Active listening
• Communication skills
• Empathy
• Positivity
• Openness to feedback
• Charisma
• Sense of humor
• Problem solving
• Patience
• Persuasion skills
• Creativity
• Confidence
• Attention to detail
• Time management
• Tact
• Strong memory
• Engaging
• Innovation
• Organization
• Building rapport

3. Use the hair stylist job description to write your resume

To maximize your odds of getting an interview you should customize your resume to each position you apply for. Not every company requires the same amount of experience and skills, similarly, a hair stylist at one company may not have to perform the same tasks at another.

Spend a few minutes picking apart the job description for the position you want and find exactly what skills, qualities, and experience the employer is looking for in a candidate. This is a great way to help you decide what to include in your own professional experience section.

Take a look at this responsibilities section of a hair stylist job posting:

Each bullet point serves as a clue to what the hiring manager is looking for on your resume.

In the first point, the company lists several hair care tasks that they require. So if you have experience with “blow-drying, styling, hair treatments, up-dos, etc” then make sure to include it in your resume.

Compare the company’s requirements to this tailored bullet point from a hair stylist resume:

• Provide 7+ technical haircare services including cutting, straightening, coloring, highlights, balayage, hair extensions, and special occasion hair styling

Notice how the example uses a similar format to the employer’s. The candidate includes their own relevant haircare techniques without mimicking the job ad too closely.

Additionally, notice in the job ad how the employer mentions the need to make product recommendations and promote sales.

Here’s a bullet point example demonstrating how to effectively address that requirement in your resume:

• Cross-sell multiple brands and beauty categories (makeup, skin care, hair, etc.) resulting in a 10% monthly sales increase.

As you can see here, the candidate doesn’t use the same format, but still addresses the employer’s need for someone who can “promote product sales.” The applicant does this by highlighting accomplishments in their resume and quantifying their bullet point with the measurable statistic “increased sales by 10%.”

Adding numbers to your resume is always more effective than just saying “increased sales.” The more you tailor your resume to the job description with hard numbers sprinkled in, the more likely you are to gain the attention of the hiring manager.

4. Include relevant action verbs in your stylist resume

To ensure that your work experience section grabs the attention of employers, begin each bullet point with an action verb.

Using action verbs in your resume emphasizes what you’ve achieved in the workplace, rather than just stating what you were responsible for.

Sentences beginning with action verbs are far more likely to impress potential employers than the same overused phrases they’ve seen a thousand times.

If you’re not sure what verbs to use, here are some basic action verbs for hair stylists:

The key to an effective hair stylist resume is being able to show off the full range of your talents, while at the same time meeting the needs of a specific employer. If you can do both, your resume will have salons begging for your hair care expertise.